New York Islanders Should Expose Hamonic Not de Haan

Travis Hamonic has received national recognition for his philanthropic work but he still remains a question mark for the New York Islanders.

Perhaps saying that Travis Hamonic is a question mark for the New York Islanders is a bold statement. By all counts, it seems as if he’s one of Garth Snow’s mainstays. He’s also someone headed down the “worn out his welcome” path of Jack Capuano.

There is no other player that straddles the line of emotional attachment and “what have you done for me lately” more than Travis Hamonic. In the thrushes of this season when the guy couldn’t buy a good bounce, the torches and pitchforks were out in record numbers.

New York Islanders

As we distance ourselves from the disappointment of missing the playoffs and Hamonic is recognized for the truly meaningful work he’s doing, our hearts bond to him again.

Logic of Losing Hamonic

Hamonic embodies the battle between the notion that hockey players are commodities and human beings.

We rage at them. Ship them off to parts unknown. We dissect and tear apart every move, play, and shift. We sift through the numbers and argue the validity of every statistic.

Most of us hover on the outside of all of this. We can’t get the full picture. We don’t see in the room. Or into how as human beings their lives become intertwined with others whether its teammates, media, or fans.

We’ve all got opinions on where Hamonic should land this offseason. What we know of Snow and his patterns says Hamonic won’t be traded, will be protected in the expansion draft, and will wear an A come the start of next season.

We can all come up with fantastical scenarios of trading Hamonic for Matt Duchene. We curse the supposed loss of Taylor Hall.

There was something special about the New York Islanders once. 30 years ago. 20. Even a decade ago. There was something special two years ago and even this season. Every team is constantly building and rebuilding not just the product on the ice, but in the room and community.

No one wants to see Hamonic go – except for where we do. When putting away emotion and the human angle, it’s seemed obvious for longer than just this season. Only before there was reason to believe he could bring back top value.

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That seems less and less the case now. If this teams remains static until the expansion draft, it’s not Calvin de Haan that should be the defenseman offered up in sacrifice. It’s Hamonic.